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North Dakota Sees A Decline In Gambling

Posted on April 8th, 2010

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The director of the State Gaming Commission said the slump in the economy and the bans on smoking have been major factors that contributed to the drop in North Dakota’s gambling.

Keith Lauer said the state’s charitable gambling industry has gone down to an all-time low in more than ten years. He said residents of North Dakota spent $250.8 million on games of chance such as blackjack, bingo and pull tabs last year, as against $265.7 million in 2008 and $255.1 million in 1999.

Lauer said the decrease could be blamed for the most part on the economic downturn and the smoking bans that kept smoking gamblers away from gambling halls and bars where smoking is banned. Fargo, for instance, is one place where smoking is prohibited in all bars. The games of chance made a start in North Dakota in 1977.

At that time, only $5.9 million was wagered. Since then, the state’s gambling industry has developed with time, and for more than ten years the industry has been making a quarter of a billion dollars annually. Records show that during that period, people of North Dakota gambled more than $400 per head each year.

In a period of 11 years ending in 2009, North Dakotans have gambled more than $2.8 billion, and of that amount, $2.3 billion went to payouts, Lauer reported. He added that since 1999 the industry has brought in $129 million in gambling taxes and $178.3 million in net proceeds were allotted for charities.

Lauer said there are currently 330 charities that get a share from gambling, with North Dakota Association for the Disabled based in Grand Forks as the biggest recipient in the state. The association’s gross revenue in 2009 was $20.6 million, sliding from $23.3 million in 2008 and 30.2 million in 2004. “It’s a downward trend for sure,” said Ron Gibbins, the group’s president.

Gibbins said the organization also has agencies in Bismarck, Minot and Fargo, and has been involved in gambling since 1982. Money from gambling pays for wheelchairs, medicines and other services for the disabled. He said gambling sales have been affected by smoking prohibitions at bars and bingo centers. “We’ve definitely seen an impact but in Minot and Bismarck, where you can still smoke, revenue is still down. It’s a mystery to me.”

Gibbins surmised some gambling bets may have been taken away by the state lottery that was approved by voters in 2002, and some may have been grabbed by the state’s five Indian casinos whose modern slot machines are pulling younger gamblers from the simple bingo cards and pull tabs. “This is the age of technology and more people are interested in technology,” Gibbins said.

Despite the industry’s decline, however, North Dakota’s gambling is still considered sound. Alaska is one state that has challenged North Dakota for the top spot as having the highest amount spent on gambling per person in the United States. Lauer said long winters in states with fewer inhabitants play a part in gambling. “There are few opportunities for entertainment in the winter months,” he said. “Opportunities for gaming are always out there.”